Twins Minor League Report (8/11): Who Didn’t Homer?

[Ted Schwerzler]

Tonight was the night of the longball on the farm. Across multiple levels prospects went deep time and time again. Opposing pitchers were feasted on, and there's no denying everyone digs the dinger.

TRANSACTIONS

• The Wichita Wind Surge removed Simeon Woods-Richardson from the Temporary Inactive List as he returned from Team USA action.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 11, Indianapolis 9
Box Score

Making his third start since coming to the Twins organization, Drew Strotman was on the bump for the Saints tonight. He worked six innings allowing five runs on six hits. He did strike out seven while walking just two.

Behind 2-0 after one, Keon Broxton put the Saints on the board with their first run on a sacrifice fly, scoring Drew Maggi. Trailing 4-1 in the 4th inning, Jimmy Kerrigan brought St. Paul back within one launching his 14th home run of the year, this one a two-run shot, scoring Maggi once again.

St. Paul took their first lead of the game in the 5th inning. A Nick Gordon double play allowed David Banuelos to score, and a Gilberto Celestino two-out double drove in Tomas Telis and moved the tally to 5-4 good guys. Kerrigan then homered in the 6th inning, his second of the night, and St. Paul doubled their lead.

Unfortunately the 6th inning also saw Indianapolis take things over against lights out Saints reliever, Jovani Moran. Telis quickly bailed out the stud pen arm though, as a 7th inning double scored Gordon and drew things back even at 7.

This one went to extras and things continued to be bonkers. The Saints scored two in the top half of the 10th on a Telis single and a Kerrigan ground out, but Indianapolis answered with two of their own in the bottom half. 

Needing to score in the 11th with hopes of a victory, St. Paul got heroics from none other than the man himself, Jose Miranda. Minnesota’s most prolific offensive prospect in 2021 blasted a two-run homer to give the Saints an 11-9 victory. Multi-hit efforts in this one came from Miranda, Telis, and Kerrigan.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 10, Tulsa 5
Box Score

Bryan Sammons was tonight’s starter for the Wind Surge, and he was nails. Going five strong, he allowed just a single hit and one walk while punching out five batters. It was nothing short of dominant in a start where offensive run support was in excess supply.

Wichita kicked things off in a big way during the first inning. Roy Morales hit his first homer of the season. He was followed by dingers from Spencer Steer (10th with Wind Surge, 20th overall) and Jermaine Palacios (17). Before the first three outs were recorded, the Wind Surge led 3-0.

B.J. Boyd then got into the act with his ninth dinger, a solo shot in the third inning, and followed it up with a three-run blast in the 4th inning.

Allowing Tulsa to come back in the 7th inning, Wichita's lead was decreased to just three at 8-5 entering the 8th inning. In the 9th though, they got some breathing room. Newly-acquired Austin Martin hit his first home run for the Twins organization, and Trey Cabbage went yard for his 11th home with the Wind Surge (20th overall). With the lead back up to five runs, the Wind Surge slammed the door and put a bow on this one.

Boyd, Morales, Cabbage, and Palacios all had two-hit efforts for the Wind Surge tonight.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 4
Box Score

Ben Gross got the call tonight for Cedar Rapids, and he was nothing short of amazing. Going six innings, he allowed just two runs on six hits, he punched out a whopping 13 batters while walking just one.

Cedar Rapids struck first as Edouard Julien blasted a home run on a 3-0 pitch in the 3rd for his eighth homer since joining the Kernels. Jeferson Morales then singled in Yunior Severino and Matt Wallner to put the Kernels ahead 3-0. After giving two runs back in the 4th inning, Cedar Rapids had another answer. Seth Gray hit his eighth homer to make it 4-2, and Max Smith singled in Wander Javier extending the lead to 5-2 after five innings.

Things got tight late with Peoria plating two in the 8th, but Zach Featherstone was able to slam the door and record his eighth save of the season. Both Gray and Morales had two hits on the evening.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Bradenton 8, Fort Myers 2 
Box Score

Dealing with some errant command tonight, Landon Leach gave up three runs without allowing a hit for the Mighty Mussels. The three walks and five hit batters (Yes, five!) burned him, but he did battle for two strikeouts on the evening.

Fort Myers jumped out to an early lead on the scorching bat of Aaron Sabato. His first inning dinger was his ninth of the season and gave the Mighty Mussels a 1-0 lead. They trailed 5-1 entering the 8th before Sabato plated Misael Urbina while grounding into a double play. Bradenton then added another three runs in the bottom of the 8th and the deficit grew to six.

The Mussels scattered four hits on the evening, but no one recorded more than one. Sabato continues to swing a hot stick, and he’s pushed the OPS to .711 despite a .191 average on the year.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
No Game Scheduled

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Ben Gross (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 13 K
Hitter of the Day - Jimmy Kerrigan (St. Paul) - 3-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR(15)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Take note that we have finished our midseason update, so there is a new list! Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 - Royce Lewis (rehab) - Out for season (torn ACL)
#2 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) - Injured List (elbow strain)
#3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) - Did not pitch
#4 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (right elbow strain)
#5 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 2-5, R, 2 RBI, BB, K, HR(10)
#6 - Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) - 1-4, K
#7 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 1-4, RBI, BB, 2 K
#8 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - Injured List (shoulder impingement)
#9 - Aaron Sabato (Fort Myers) - 1-4, R, RBI, HR(9), K
#10 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, RBI, BB, 2 K
#11 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Out for season (Tommy John surgery)
#12 - Bailey Ober (Minnesota) - 5.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
#13 - Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch
#14 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - 0-4, 4 K
#15 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) - 0-4, R, K
#16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 
#17 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, R, 2 K
#18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) - No game
#19 - Edwar Colina (rehab) - Injured List (elbow)
#20 - Chris Vallimont (Wichita) - Did not pitch

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Indianapolis (6:05PM CST) - RHP Chandler Shepherd (5-5, 5.88 ERA)
Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05PM CST) - RHP Chris Vallimont (4-4, 4.99 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland (2-0, 0.83 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:05PM CST) - RHP Casey Legumina (2-1, 5.31 ERA)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!

 

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[Eephus]

Palacios is listed at 145 Lbs and has 17  homers.. He must take a healthy cut.

[HrbieFan]

Sammons has a great lower body build for a pitcher. The future is bright! 

[Danchat]

You get a HR, you get a HR, everyone gets a HR!!! *insert Oprah meme here*

[bean5302]

52 minutes ago, Eephus said:

Palacios is listed at 145 Lbs and has 17  homers.. He must take a healthy cut.

Those weights are from about 10 years ago. He didn't put on much weight for quite a while, but his power has really come on this year. No idea if he gained muscle mass over 2020.

[Aerodeliria]

As I grow tired of waiting for Kepler to blossom, why don't we call up JImmie Kerrigan? His eye at the plate seems to be much improved from past seasons, and I'm sure he can hit lefties better than Kepler at the moment--considering Kepler seems to make little or NO contact against lefties.

[rghrbek]

we only have a couple but can we get our new guys from trades in here?

[puckstopper1]

It looks like the link to the Wichita box score is to an old game...

[roger]

Is the biggest news in the system that the FCL Twins did not lose?

With another home run yesterday, is Sabato starting to get it?  Sure has been disappointing start to his career, but there is still time to take a big step forward this year.  Checking the Kernels' box score revealed that Severino continues tearing the cover off the ball.  And always good to see Javier with another triple, his tenth of the year.  Don't know if that leads MiLB baseball, but when he recently hit his ninth he was tied for the lead. 

Does anyone else just shake their head when checking the Saints box score to see what Miranda did last night?  I sure do.  Strotman hasn't been at his best since joining the Twins.  But didn't we all think that Ryan was the blue chip coming back in the Cruz trade.  Heck, Ryan even up for Cruz would have been a good deal in my mind.

[AceWrigley]

Is Miranda kind of like a young Albert Pujols with the combo of plate coverage and the ball jumping off the bat?

[Dman]

Man this system is going to have a ton of guys that hit 20 homers or more this year.  Usually there are just a couple of guys that manage to do that but there might be 6 to 9 guys that do it this year.

Gross has pitched really well this year.  I never expected he could have K9 that good in pro ball.  The WHIP is just little high but take off a few walks and it is in line.  He is old for the level but he has to be happy with how well he has done this year.

Wichita has a really good team and possibly the toughest lineup in AA.  One very important addition to that club was BJ Boyd.  He might be old for the level but he really solidified that lineup and has come up with clutch hits all year.  I know he was a late free agent signing but he has had a major impact on this team.  At 28 you probably can't call him a prospect anymore but he has made his presence felt for Wichita this year.

[Steve Lein]

10 hours ago, Eephus said:

Palacios is listed at 145 Lbs and has 17  homers.. He must take a healthy cut.

Heights/Weights you'll find on minor leaguers are always what they were when signed/drafted. They don't get updated anywhere except maybe local minor league team media guides until they get to the majors. I'd venture Palacios is closer to 200 lbs than he is 150 these days.

[Alex Schieferdecker]

When three of the organization's top hitting prospects all hit home runs, it's a good day. Especially because Miranda had been in a mini-slump, Martin had been struggling to hit with any power, and Sabato... well let's just leave it at that.

Tomorrow is V Day (Vallimont and Varland) in the minors. Hopefully we get some great pitching!

[LA VIkes Fan]

Great update, Ted. I find myself reading the Minor League update almost every day this season. Quick question. Are you going to update the top 20 prospect list to add any of Ryan, Strotman, Martin, etc.? It would be fun to see where they would fit on the list and make it easier to track their progress.  

[jmlease1]

I hope Sabato is figuring it out. He needs this hot run to keep going and to keep getting the bat on the ball. Right now his stock is falling, but maybe just maybe the reason for his rotten start has more to do with not getting to play last season than a lack of ability. The batting eye is good, the power is there but he needs to get hits or he'll be a broke man's Brent Rooker, and that's not good enough to go anywhere but Bust Town.

[Steve Lein]

35 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

Great update, Ted. I find myself reading the Minor League update almost every day this season. Quick question. Are you going to update the top 20 prospect list to add any of Ryan, Strotman, Martin, etc.? It would be fun to see where they would fit on the list and make it easier to track their progress.  

The update is currently in progress! Heres #15-11, including Strotman: 

 

[Trov]

I am super high on Martin.  He is putting up insane numbers, yes with Wind Surge, it is very small sample, but if you look at his season, each month he is improving.  Since beginning of July, over a 25 game span, he is getting on base over .500.  I do not care if he is only good for 5 to 10 HR a year.  If he is reaching base anywhere near .500 and can be replacement level defense, he will play a major roll in the future.  

[bean5302]

Hopefully Landon Leach doesn't have another injury showing up. He doesn't really have any time left to waste. Same boat as Royce Lewis, but Leach hasn't had any success above Rk level where Lewis did well at A+ already.